I don’t think Drudge is a puppet. Everyone attacks him for just linking. It’s not like he’s writing it all.
Drudge has linked to the anti-Newt as well at the pro-Newt stuff.
I don't think he's a puppet either, I think he's an active player. The contents of his main page are not only under Drudge's control, they're his bread and butter. At one point there were no fewer than fourteen anti-Gingrich stories featured therein, and that was very much an effect of his relationships with senior Romney staffers. When you get to the point where even the NY Times feels compelled to comment on it, it's no longer simply a case of passive linking.
Was this an aberration or a new direction for Drudge? Time will tell, but for now the trust has been lost and it isn't likely to return soon, certainly not for the remainder of this Presidential campaign. It is no secret that media manipulation against conservative candidates is an exquisitely sore topic given the antics of the last Presidential election and its continuation through the anti-Palin assassination campaign; anyone in the establishment media who thinks it's going to be all right if it's done in favor of a Republican candidate of whatever stripe, is smoking crack.
I'm only guessing at this, but please hear me out - I do believe that media activism is so pervasive within the circles Drudge runs in that noticing it is like getting a fish to notice water. I also think his eyes have just been opened to just how much it really is resented by what used to be his base audience. At the very least it's a wakeup call to the fact that this election is very unlikely to be business as usual. Just my $0.02.
Yeah but lately its been mostly anti-Newt stuff.
Even though he doesn't “write” whats on his site he does have control of the links and the pics on his site.